Be My Pretend Date
by benjji2795
Summary: Jude asks Connor (his best friend) to pretend to be his boyfriend when he goes to a family function, but Connor finds things changing over the course of the day they spend together.


Jude groaned as he hung up the phone. When were his moms going to get off his back about having a boyfriend? It was only spring semester of his freshman year. He had lots of time, and anyway he hadn't met anyone he wanted to date yet. Why couldn't they understand that? Okay so maybe that wasn't entirely true. He _had_ met someone he wanted to date, but that someone didn't want to date him. At least, he didn't think so. He was cute with his sandy brown hair, hazel eyes, bright smile and incredibly toned body (not that Jude had been looking at his body, or so he told himself). And not only that, but he was a huge dork, which pretty much made Jude fall for him instantly. His name was Connor Stevens, and they had made fast friends when they met at freshman orientation. They could talk about pretty much anything, and they just seemed to get each other. They were inseparable almost since day one, and it was often hard to find one of them anywhere on campus without the other. Jude was pretty sure the whole school thought they were dating. Connor on the other hand, was completely oblivious to what had developed between them, and oblivious to the fact that everyone else could see it, constantly complaining to Jude about how he couldn't find a date, boy, girl or otherwise (Connor was pansexual). Jude would always just laugh, not wanting to tell Connor why that was. He didn't understand why Connor didn't consider asking him out. Jude was gay, Connor was pan, and they had undeniable chemistry. Maybe he would figure it out on his own. Connor may be very thick, but Jude was _very_ patient.

"Your moms giving you a hard time again?" Connor asked, having heard Jude's groan as he barged into Jude's dorm room. Connor had the key, having all but switched with Jude's original roommate, who had been getting annoyed with Connor being there all the time.

"You have no idea." Jude said, obviously exasperated.

"Why don't you just date someone for a while, you know, just to shut them up?" Connor suggested, flopping down on the bed.

"I'm not going to just use some guy to shut my moms up!" Jude protested. "That would be totally unfair to them." Connor just shrugged. He had offered up that advice to Jude more than once, always getting the same reply.

"Ugh, I am not looking forward to this family get together on Saturday. All I'm going to get asked about is whether I have a boyfriend." Jude sighed, trying to think of how he could get out of it. Suddenly, he had an idea, one so brilliant, he wasn't sure how he hadn't thought of it before. He turned, smirking at Connor. Connor stared at him for a moment, his eyes going wide when he realized what Jude was thinking.

"No Jude! I am not pretending to be your boyfriend just to shut up your family!" Connor protested. But Connor wasn't getting out of this one. Jude had figured out a while ago that all he had to do was give Connor one look ("the look" was all Jude called it) and almost all resistance would cease. He didn't use it very often (wanting it to maintain its potency), but this was one of those times. Desperate times called for desperate measures Jude reasoned. "Juuuuuuuude please don't give me that look, you know I can't say no to that face." Connor implored, which simply caused Jude's smirk to grow bigger for a moment.

"I'm really desperate Connor. Please?" he said, changing his expression to "the look."

"Alright, fine Jude. But I'm only doing this cause I'm your friend, got it?" Connor groaned. Jude smiled. He could only hope that after this weekend, maybe that might change.

* * *

"Wait so what's our story?" Connor asked as they were in the car, in the middle of the two hour drive to Jude's house.

"Well, it's basically the same story of how we became friends. It's just that after a couple of weeks, we started dating. That's it." Jude explained.

"How are we supposed to explain being roommates?" Connor continued anxiously.

"We're supposed to be madly in love. They won't think twice about it. And besides we're _technically_ not roommates, remember?"

"Right. And how 'madly in love' do we have to act?" Jude smirked at this question. This was actually his favorite part of what was about to happen. He would feel bad about putting Connor through this if he wasn't looking forward so much to them acting like a couple.

"General couple-y stuff. Hand-holding, standing close to each other, maybe a little cuddling and a kiss or two." He tried to say calmly. Connor would have to act like he was enjoying these things, but for Jude, it wouldn't be acting.

"You owe me big time for this Jude." Connor huffed.

"And one more thing. We're staying overnight." Jude added quickly.

"What?! Why did you drag me into this without telling me all the details first?" Connor exclaimed.

"You would've never said yes then."

"Damn right I wouldn't have!" Sensing how upset Connor seemed to be, Jude was starting to feel a little less smug and more concerned about what effect this was going to have on their friendship.

"Look, I'm sorry Connor. But you know I wouldn't have asked you to do this if I had another choice, right?"

"It's just that we're friends Jude. I don't want anything ruining that okay?" Connor said, trying to clarify just precisely _why_ he was upset.

"The only way this affects our friendship is if you or I let it Con." Jude rebuffed.

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay, well then I guess I can do this." Connor sighed.

"Thanks Connor."

"But you still owe me."

"Fair enough." Jude replied, laughing heartily.

* * *

"Hey Jude!" One of his moms, Lena, said cheerfully as she answered the door. "Oh! And who might this be?" She said, surveying Connor, carefully taking note that the two of them were holding hands. Connor had a smile on his face, but Jude was pretty sure it wasn't genuine.

"Mama, this is my boyfriend, Connor Stevens." Jude said quietly, bracing himself for both the squeal and the rebuke he would be getting for this.

"STEF HONEY GET OUT HERE AND MEET JUDE'S BOYFRIEND!" Lena screamed into the house excitedly. His other mom was at the door almost immediately, squealing with delight upon seeing Connor.

"Shut up! You actually have a boyfriend!" she yelled. Jude just looked at his feet. Connor could see why he wanted him to play this part. His moms were actually crazy.

"Wait, we just talked a couple of days ago. You didn't say anything about a boyfriend then." Lena said, eyeing the two suspiciously.

"I—I wanted to wait and introduce him in person." Jude replied shyly. A smile spread across Connor's face as he watched Jude nervously deal with his moms. He had never seen Jude act this shy before. He was usually so confident and in control of every situation. It was pretty cute actually.

" _Wait, cute?_ " Connor thought, suddenly feeling a little awkward. Why was he thinking of Jude as cute right now? He didn't have time to dwell on that thought though, as he was pulled into the house by Jude.

"Go ahead and go out back, the rest of the family is waiting out there for you." Stef said, leading them into the kitchen and to the back sliding door. There quite a few more people out there than Connor was expecting, but he wasn't really surprised. Jude had left out a lot of details about today, something he was still just a little upset about. One of the young women in the backyard squealed when they stepped out, running up to greet them.

"Oh my God Jude you have a boyfriend!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah Mariana." Jude said softly, and Connor tried to quickly connect the face with the name. Jude had given him the quick rundown on names in the car on the way over. But now he needed to remember the faces that went with them.

"What's this I hear about a boyfriend?" Another one of women said, walking up to Jude and embracing him tightly.

"Yeah. This is Connor." Jude said when she pulled away. "Connor, this is Callie, my biological, I guess, half-sister, technically."

"It's nice to meet you Callie." Connor said, extending his hand, only to be engulfed by a hug instead, catching him off guard.

"Let me introduce you to the rest of the family then." Jude said, prying Callie off Connor and taking his hand. Connor tried not to think about how much he was starting to like Jude grabbing his hand.

"So that's my brother Jesus, my other brother Brandon, my sort of brother AJ ( _it's a long story don't ask_ , he whispered), you met Callie and Mariana, there's Mariana's half-sister Isabella and yeah, I think that's it." Jude said, pointing to each family member as he spoke.

"You have a big family." Connor said quietly.

"It gets kind of annoying sometimes." Jude replied casually.

"I would've given a lot to have had a big family growing up. It was just me and my dad for a lot of it." Connor was feeling—well he wasn't sure what he was feeling exactly. But something about the way they were smiling at him, being friendly, making feel like he was already part of the family made him feel strange.

"Dinner!" Came a shout from behind them, breaking Connor from his thoughts as he was suddenly being dragged into the kitchen.

"Sorry. If you don't get out of the way, Brandon and Jesus _will_ trample you." Jude explained, and Connor giggled.

"EW, would you two get a room!" Jesus shouted from the other side of the kitchen. Connor jumped away from Jude. He hadn't even noticed just how close they were standing, or that they still hadn't dropped each other's hands. Connor was starting to feel confused about what was happening between the two of them, specifically on his end. He knew he it was just an act, but for some reason it didn't exactly feel like he was _just_ acting.

"Speaking of rooms, who's getting what room?" Lena shouted over the commotion.

"I'm getting my room!" Jude exclaimed eagerly.

"Well, you're going to have to share with Jesus." Stef said. "Not that it will be a problem. Twin beds are small but I'm sure you two can share." She added, looking at Connor as she spoke.

"You didn't say we would have to share a bed." Connor hissed.

"Oops?"

"I am sleeping on the floor." He whispered.

"That's going to look really weird Connor." Jude shot back. Secretly, Connor was really starting to warm up to doing all this couple-y stuff, but he wasn't going to admit that to Jude. Not yet anyway. Connor was nothing if not stubborn.

"I'm doing it anyway." Connor argued.

"Oi! You two actually going to eat something or just stand there whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears?" Jesus said sharply, once again causing them to break apart, blushing furiously. They dropped hands, walking over and grabbing some food, sitting down next to each other (there were only two seats left, and Connor assumed, his family had left them for the two of them to sit together).

"So Connor, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?" Stef asked, starting up the dinner conversation.

"Well I'm a freshman, obviously going to the same college as Jude—" He started, being almost instantly interrupted by Brandon.

"Well I would've guessed."

"I'm on the baseball team, and I'm studying computer engineering." Connor finished.

"Alright, now enough about you, tell me about your first date!" Mariana cut him off, squealed excitedly.

"Mariana!" Jude exclaimed, while Connor just turned red.

"What? I don't have a love life. Excuse me for wanting to live vicariously through yours." Mariana replied sassily. Connor just stared at Jude. They hadn't talked about this, he didn't know what to say.

"We went for dinner and movie. Nothing special." Jude explained, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh come on there must have been something special about it." Lena pressed. "What do you remember about your first date Connor?" Connor stuttered nervously for a moment. What would've been special about dinner and movie date? Jude obviously, that was the answer. But what about Jude would he say? He looked over intently studying Jude, trying to think of something that he loved about Jude, planning on just making something up. Suddenly Connor remembered something that had _actually_ happened to them.

"Well I don't remember what movie it was, but I know that we happened to be the only ones in the theater for it. And Jude kept making all these snide comments about the characters or the plot. I was in stitches the whole time, he was just so funny." Connor said dreamily, getting lost in the memory, to a collective "awww" from Jude's family. Connor didn't really notice. He was still looking at Jude, trying to process exactly what was happening. After that, the conversation seemed to shift away from Jude and Connor, to the other members of the Adams-Foster family. But Connor was still lost in thought. He always saw Jude as just a friend, but now…but now with the way he felt when Jude was holding his hand, the way he couldn't seem to leave any space between the two of them, the way he was looking at Jude now, focused on his lips, maybe something had changed. As he stared at Jude, all he could think about was taking Jude's head into his hands and pulling him close and kissing him. He tried to shake the thoughts, instead trying to concentrate on the conversation at hand, but somehow returning to Jude after only a few moments to see Jude staring at him, an almost dazed look on his face. Connor realized he had seen that look so many times, but now in this moment, he understood what it meant. Could he really have been _that_ blind?

"Alright, so who wants to watch a movie after dinner?" Stef asked as they began clearing the table, once again breaking Connor from his thoughts. After receiving a chorus of "me!" in reply, Stef just chuckled and told them all to get settled. Jude grabbed Connor, dragging him out the couch, clearly trying to get out there first to claim the best spot, a spot on the couch.

"I forgot about that movie." Jude commented quietly. "But as I seem to remember, you weren't exactly laughing, you spent most of the movie trying to glare at me and failing, bursting into giggling fits."

"I do not giggle!" Connor protested.

"Yes you do! It's very cute." Jude argued. _Cute_. Connor felt his stomach flip. Then he turned to see that Callie and Brandon had already joined them in the living room. Oh, so he was just playing the part. But then, Jude was giving him that look again.

"Should we cuddle during the movie?" Connor whispered, feeling unsure of what to do.

"We already pretty much are Connor." Jude replied, and Connor looked down. He had sat down pretty much right on top of Jude, and (apparently subconsciously) wrapped his arms around Jude. He was starting to think more and more that he wasn't acting now. About halfway through the movie, Jude had fallen asleep and had turned to snuggle into Connor's side, resting his head comfortably on Connor's chest. Connor smiled at the sleeping boy in his arms. Jude was so—adorable—when he was sleeping. The way his dark brown hair got slightly ruffled by the way he snuggled his head into Connor's chest, the content expression on his face, the way he was gently snoring. It made his heart melt and his stomach erupt with butterflies. Connor couldn't decide where it happened exactly, but something had shifted today. He couldn't see Jude as _just_ his best friend anymore, not after today. He was still his best friend, that hadn't changed, but now all he wanted to do was hold Jude's hand, stare at his face forever getting lost in those mysterious brown eyes, to snuggle close to him. To kiss him.

The movie ended, and Connor gently shook Jude, rousing him from sleep.

"Huh?" he said sleepily.

"Movie's over sleepy head. Time to go to bed." Connor explained, kissing Jude's forehead, and sending shocks all through his body.

"Oh." Jude said softly, extracting himself from Connor, leaving Connor feeling cold and empty. Connor stood up, walking after Jude to his room.

"I—I think we should share the bed." Connor murmured, hoping Jude wouldn't ask him what caused the change in heart. Jude was too sleepy to really think about it, instead just muttering _okay_ and stumbling into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Connor stripped to just his boxers, intending to sleep just as he normally did, not thinking too much about the added dimension of sleeping in the same bed as Jude, and jumped into the bed, pulling up the covers and waiting for Jude to come back. Jude climbed into the bed, jumping back when he realized he was touching Connor's bare chest.

"Woah Connor are you just in—"

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Connor asked nervously, reminded again by Jude's reaction that this was all maybe all just an act.

"Well no I just thought—never mind. That was some pretty good acting." Jude whispered, talking softly enough that Jesus, lying in the other bed, wouldn't hear. _Acting_. Connor felt his heart sink. So Jude was just a really good actor.

"Oh, thanks." He mumbled, turning away from Jude, trying to hold his body still from the sobs that were rising in his chest.

Jude just lay there, staring at Connor confused. _Thanks_. So wait, Connor was just acting? It sure as hell didn't feel like it. Jude knew he shouldn't be feeling this crushed that Connor still just saw him as a friend, but he couldn't help it. Today, it all felt so real, like Connor really was his boyfriend, and not just his best friend who he had an unrequited crush on. So Jude turned on his side, back facing Connor just like Connor was doing, and tried to stifle his cries. In doing so, they both began to shake from crying so that they didn't notice the other was doing it as well.

* * *

Jude woke up to an arm over his body and face nuzzled into his neck. In his head, he knew that Connor had just snuggled up to him in his sleep, but in his heart he wanted to think that it was on purpose. Jude stayed still, wanting to savor the moment until Connor woke up and rolled away from him. Except, that when Connor woke up, he took his over arm and wrapped it around Jude to meet his other arm, pulling Jude close to his chest.

"Hi Jude." He muttered sleepily, his hot breath washing over Jude's neck and making him shiver.

"Hey sleepy head." Jude said, teasing Connor for calling him that last night.

"Hey no teasing. I'm not fully awake yet." Connor protested weakly.

"You're being pretty affectionate this morning Connor." Jude pointed out.

"Yeah, so?"

"I thought we were just acting." Jude commented. Connor just buried his head deeper into Jude's neck, the cobwebs of sleep taking away his mental filter as he spoke.

"Maybe you were. But I wasn't." Connor said, eyes still closed.

"Can I tell you a secret Connor?" Jude asked. Connor nodded, tickling Jude's neck with his morning stubble. "I wasn't acting either."

"Wait so what does that mean?" Connor inquired, sounding a little less sleepy than before.

"It means I like you, idiot." Jude replied, laughing softly.

"Oh. Wait for how long though?" Connor asked, thinking about the look that Jude was giving him yesterday, the look that he had been giving him almost as long as they'd been friends.

"Almost since day one." Jude answered faintly, feeling embarrassed to admit that.

"Wow I am an idiot." Connor groaned.

"Wha—"

"I didn't see it until just yesterday and I don't know how I missed it for so long." Connor groaned.

"Well do you—"

"Yes, Jude, I like you back." At this, Jude loosened Connor's arms so he could turn around and face Connor, planting his lips onto Connor's. He tightened up his arms again, bringing Jude in as close to his chest as he possibly could, feeling like his skin was on fire everywhere Jude was touching him. Connor felt like his head was swimming, it was an incredible sensation, unlike any kiss Connor had shared with anyone else before. Jude bit at his bottom lip and Connor moaned, Jude taking the opportunity enter Connor's mouth with his tongue, tangling his hands in Connor's hair.

"Oh my god! Dudes I'm right here!" Jesus exclaimed, throwing his pillow at them. They pulled away, breathlessly laughing at him. He stormed out of the room, muttering something about how it wasn't fair that he was still single. Or at least that's what it sounded like. Connor didn't have time to consider it because as soon as Jesus was gone, Jude was exploring his mouth again. Connor pulled away after a moment, resting his forehead on Jude's.

"Okay I lied. I don't like you. I _love_ you." Connor gasped.

"Yeah, I love you too idiot." Jude breathed out.


End file.
